Quantification of peripapillary nerve fibre elevation and its association with axial length, optic disc tilt, and parapapillary atrophy area in young, healthy eyes.

BACKGROUND: Eyes with peripapillary nerve fibre elevation (pNFE) may have a gap between the optic nerve papillary margin on colour fundus photography and Bruch's membrane opening on cross-sectional optical coherence tomography (OCT). This study was conducted to evaluate the quantification of the height of pNFE in young healthy eyes and examine the relationship between pNFE height and axial length. METHODS: A prospective, observational, cross-sectional study was performed involving 117 right eyes. All participants (mean age 25.8 years) underwent comprehensive ophthalmologic examination involving axial length, fundus photography, and peripapillary and optic disc OCT. pNFE height was defined as the distance between the retinal surface plane and the upper edge of the pNFE in optic disc cross-sectional OCT images. Optic disc tilt was evaluated using a sine curve on retinal nerve fibre layer B-scan images. Parapapillary atrophy (PPA) area in colour fundus images was calculated using ImageJ and corrected using Bennett's formula. We evaluated relationships between pNFE height, axial length, optic disc papillary tilt, and PPA area using Spearman's correlation analysis. RESULTS: Sixty-five eyes had pNFE, with a mean pNFE height of 84.7 µm. pNFE height was significantly positively correlated with axial length (r = 0.32, p < 0.001), optic disc tilt (r = 0.25, p = 0.008), and PPA area (r = 0.27, p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: pNFE is not rare in young healthy eyes. Eyes with higher pNFE had a longer axial length and larger optic disc tilt and PPA area.

Factors in Color Fundus Photographs That Can Be Used by Humans to Determine Sex of Individuals.

Purpose: Artificial intelligence (AI) can identify the sex of an individual from color fundus photographs (CFPs). However, the mechanism(s) involved in this identification has not been determined. This study was conducted to determine the information in CFPs that can be used to determine the sex of an individual. Methods: Prospective observational cross-sectional study of 112 eyes of 112 healthy volunteers. The following characteristics of CFPs were analyzed: the color of peripapillary area expressed by the mean values of red, green, and blue intensities, and the tessellation expressed by the tessellation fundus index (TFI). The optic disc ovality ratio, papillomacular angle, retinal artery trajectory, and retinal vessel angles were also quantified. Their differences between the sexes were assessed by Mann-Whitney U tests. Regularized binomial logistic regression was used to select the decisive factors. In addition, its discriminative performance was evaluated through the leave-one-out cross validation. Results: The mean age of 76 men and 36 women was 25.8 years. The regularized binomial logistic regression delivered the optimal model for sex selected variables of peripapillary temporal green and blue intensities, temporal TFI, supratemporal TFI, optic disc ovality ratio, artery trajectory, and supratemporal retinal artery angle. With this approach, the discrimination accuracy rate was 77.9%. Conclusions: Human-assessed characteristics of CFPs are useful in investigating the new theme proposed by AI, the sex of an individual. Translational Relevance: This is the first report to approach the thinking process of AI by humans and can be a new approach to medical AI research.

Variants in IL23R-C1orf141 and ADO-ZNF365-EGR2 are associated with susceptibility to Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease in Japanese population.

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease is a systemic inflammatory disorder that affects pigment cell-containing organs such as the eye (e.g., chronic and/or recurrent granulomatous panuveitis). While the exact etiology and pathogenic mechanism of VKH disease are unclear, HLA-DR4 alleles have been documented to be strongly associated with VKH disease in various ethnic groups. Recently, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) found two new genetic risk factors (IL23R-C1orf141 and ADO-ZNF365-EGR2) in a non-HLA region from a Han Chinese population. In this study, we replicated these GWAS findings in a Japanese population. A total of 1,643 Japanese samples (380 cases with VKH disease and 1,263 healthy controls) were recruited. We assessed four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) shown in previous GWAS: rs78377598 and rs117633859 in IL23R-C1orf141, and rs442309 and rs224058 in ADO-ZNF365-EGR2. A significant allelic association with VKH disease was observed for all of the four SNPs (rs78377598: pc = 0.0057; rs117633859: pc = 0.0017; rs442309: pc = 0.021; rs224058: pc = 0.035). In genotypic association analysis, the minor alleles of IL23R-C1orf141 rs78377598 and rs117633859 had the strongest association with disease susceptibility under the additive model (pc = 0.0075 and pc = 0.0026, respectively). The minor alleles of ADO-ZNF365-EGR2 rs442309 and rs224058 were most strongly associated with disease susceptibility under the dominant model (pc = 0.00099 and pc = 0.0023, respectively). The meta-analysis of the current and previous studies found that all of the four SNPs exhibited a significantly strong association with VKH disease (meta-p < 0.00001: rs78377598, meta-odds ratio (OR) = 1.69; rs1176338, meta-OR = 1.82; rs442309, meta-OR = 1.34; rs224058, meta-OR = 1.33). In summary, our study replicated significant associations with VKH disease susceptibility reported in a previous GWAS. Thus, the IL23R-C1orf141 and ADO-ZNF365-EGR2 loci may play important roles in the development of VKH disease through genetic polymorphisms.

Relationship between peripapillary choroidal thickness and degree of tessellation in young healthy eyes.

PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between the peripapillary choroidal thickness (ppCT) and the degree and distribution of the tessellation in the fundus of normal eyes. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational cross-sectional study of 118 right eyes of young healthy volunteers. The ppCT was measured from the optical coherence tomography (OCT) circle scans manually at eight sectors: the nasal, supranasal superior, supratemporal, temporal, infratemporal, inferior, and infranasal sectors. The subjective degree of the tessellation in the color fundus photographs (CFPs) was classified into three categories: non-tessellated (NT), weakly tessellated (WT), and strongly tessellated (ST) in same sectors. The objective degree of tessellation designated by the tessellation fundus index (TFI) which was calculated as TFI = (R - G)/(R + G + B) using the mean value of the red-green-blue intensities of the CFPs. The differences in the ppCT and TFI for the three tessellation groups were analyzed. The correlations between the TFI and the ppCT were also determined. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 25.8 years and the mean axial length of the eye was 25.5 mm. The inter-rater agreement of the subjective classifications was high with a Fleiss kappa of 0.71. The ppCT was significantly thinner in eyes with higher degrees of tessellation (P < 0.05) in all sectors. The TFIs were significantly and negatively correlated with the ppCTs in all sectors (r = - 0.44 to - 0.24, P < 0.05) except the nasal and the supranasal sectors. CONCLUSION: The degree of peripapillary tessellation is significantly correlated with the ppCT in young healthy eyes, and it has large individual and geographic variations.

Relationship Between Funduscopic Conus and Optic Disc Factors Associated with Myopia in Young Healthy Eyes.

Purpose: To determine the relationship between funduscopic findings in myopic eyes and the prevalence and structure of the conus in the optical coherence tomographic (OCT) images. Methods: A prospective observational cross-sectional study of 121 right eyes of 121 young healthy volunteers. All participants underwent color fundus photography (CFP), scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, and OCT. Based on the OCT analyses, the area between the edge of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) and that of choroid was defined as the "choroidal conus (CC)", and the area between the edge of the choroid and the scleral edge as the "scleral conus (SC)". The eyes were classified into three groups such as the non-conus (NC) group, CC group, and SC group. The differences in the axial length, optic disc tilt, ovality ratio, papillomacular position angle, and peripapillary nerve fiber elevation (pNFE) between the three groups were determined. Results: CFPs detected a conus in 79 eyes (65.3 %). The outer border of the conus in CFPs corresponded with the edge of the EZ in the OCT in all subjects. Thirty-seven eyes had CC alone (CC group) and 42 eyes had both CC and SC (SC group). The CC and SC groups had longer axial lengths and more frequent pNFEs than the NC group. There was a significant difference in the optic disc tilt and ovality ratio between the CC and SC groups. Conclusions: The eyes with SC tend to have larger optic disc tilt and smaller ovality ratio than the eyes with CC only.

Association Study of ARMC9 Gene Variants with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease in Japanese Patients.

Purpose: To investigate whether variants in the ARMC9 gene encoding KU-MEL-1 are associated with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease in a Japanese population. Methods: We recruited 380 Japanese patients with VKH disease and 744 Japanese healthy controls to genotype seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ARMC9. We also performed imputation analysis of the ARMC9 region and 195 imputed SNPs were included in the statistical analysis. Results: We observed an increased frequency of the A allele of rs28690417 in patients compared with controls (P = 0.0097, odds ratio (OR) = 1.46). The A allele had a dominant effect on VKH disease risk (P = 0.011, OR = 1.51). However, these significant differences disappeared after Bonferroni correction (corrected P > 0.05). The remaining 201 SNPs did not show any significant association with disease risk. Conclusions: Our study suggests that ARMC9 variants do not play a critical role in the development of VKH disease.

Systemic diseases in patients with HTLV-1-associated uveitis.

BACKGROUND: Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) carriers may develop severe systemic diseases, such as adult T cell leukaemia (ATL) or HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). This study aims to investigate systemic diseases of HTLV-1 carriers who had developed HTLV-1-associated uveitis (HAU). METHODS: We investigated the occurrence of systemic diseases in 200 patients with HAU by performing a retrospective investigation of their medical records and examining the results of a postal survey. RESULTS: The mean age of HAU onset was 49 years, and the total person-years from HAU onset was 1627. There were two cases of ATL. Of these, one was diagnosed with smouldering ATL at the time of HAU onset and the other developed acute-type ATL 4 years after HAU onset. There were 26 cases of HAM/TSP; of these, HAM/TSP occurred first in 13 cases and HAU occurred first in 11 cases. The interval between the onset of HAM/TSP and HAU ranged from 6 months to 6 years, with no significant difference observed based on whether HAM/TSP or HAU occurred first. Hyperthyroidism was noted in 45 cases and preceded onset in all cases. HAU onset occurred after starting thiamazole treatment, and in two cases HAU recurred each time thiamazole treatment was restarted. CONCLUSION: HTLV-1 carriers with HAU may develop HAM/TSP more frequently than general carriers. HTLV-1 carriers undergoing treatment for hyperthyroidism may be prone to developing HAU.

Correlations between local peripapillary choroidal thickness and axial length, optic disc tilt, and papillo-macular position in young healthy eyes.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has made it possible for clinicians to measure the peripapillary choroidal thickness (ppCT) noninvasively in various ocular diseases. However, the ocular factors associated with the ppCT have not been conclusively determined. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the local ppCT and the axial length, optic disc tilt, and the angle of the papillo-macular position (PMP) in healthy eyes. This was a prospective, observational cross-sectional study of 119 right eyes of 119 healthy Japanese volunteers. The ppCT was manually measured at eight sectors around the optic disc using the B-scan images of the Topcon 3D OCT RNFL 3.4 mm circle scan. The trajectory of the retinal pigment epithelium in the B-scan image was fitted to a sine curve using ImageJ, and the amplitude of the sine curve was used to determine the degree of the optic disc tilt. The PMP angle was determined in the color fundus photographs. The relationships between the ppCT and the axial length, the optic disc tilt, and PMP angle were determined by Spearman and multiple correlation analyses. The mean age was 25.8 ± 3.9 years and the mean axial length was 25.5 ± 1.4 mm. The ppCT was significantly and negatively associated with the axial length (R = -0.43 to -0.24, P<0.01) and positively associated with the PMP angle (R = 0.28 to 0.37, P<0.01) in all eight circumpapillary sectors. The temporal and infratemporal ppCTs were significantly and negatively associated with the optic disc tilt (R = -0.31, -0.20, P<0.05). The results of multiple regression analyses were similar to that of Spearman correlation analysis. In conclusion, the axial length and PMP angle can affect the ppCT in all circumferential sectors, however the tilt of the optic disc is correlated with only some of the sectors. This should be remembered in interpreting the ppCT.

Correlations Between Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness and Axial Length, Peripapillary Retinal Tilt, Optic Disc Size, and Retinal Artery Position in Healthy Eyes.

PURPOSE: To determine the correlations between the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) and the axial length, peripapillary retinal tilt (PRT), and optic disc size, and retinal artery position. METHODS: A prospective, observational cross-sectional study of 119 healthy right eyes of 119 volunteers. All participants underwent comprehensive ophthalmologic examinations including peripapillary RNFLT imaging and measurements of the axial length. The RNFLT was determined by the TOPCON 3D OCT-1000, MARK II. The RNFLT in a 3.4 mm circular scan was divided into 12 clock-hour sectors and 4 quadrant sectors around the optic disc. The PRT was assessed using the RNFLT B-scan images. The angle between the supra-temporal and infra-temporal retinal arteries was determined in the color fundus photographs. The correlations between the sectorial RNFLTs and the axial length, PRT, optic disc size, and artery angles were determined by simple and multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses showed that the nasal and inferior quadrants and the whole RNFLT were significantly and negatively correlated with the axial length (standardized coefficient (SC)=-0.39 to -0.30, P<0.05). The PRT was significantly and positively associated with all of the quadrants and the whole RNFLT (SC=0.22 to 0.45, P<0.05). The retinal artery angle was significantly and negatively associated with the temporal RNFLT and positively associated with inferior RNFLT (SC=-0.49 to 0.31, P<0.05). The optic disc size was significantly and positively associated with the superior and nasal quadrants, and the whole RNFLT (SC=0.20 to 0.27, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The axial length, PRT, optic disc size, retinal artery angle can affect the peripapillary RNFLT. These variables should be considered when assessing the peripapillary RNFLT.

Peripapillary Nerve Fiber Elevation in Young Healthy Eyes.

PURPOSE: Eyes with a peripapillary nerve fiber elevation (pNFE) are those with a discrepancy between the optic disc margin in a color fundus photograph and the Bruch's membrane opening in an optical coherent tomographic (OCT) cross-sectional image. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of pNFE in young healthy eyes, and to compare the axial length and optic disc tilt between pNFE and non-pNFE groups. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational, cross-sectional study of 117 right eyes. All participants (mean age 25.8 ± 4.0 years) underwent a comprehensive ophthalmologic examination. The pNFE was determined from the color fundus photographs, scanning laser ophthalmoscopic images, and optic disc cross-sectional OCT images. The degree of optic disc tilt was determined by the sine curve technique. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to determine the significance of the differences in the axial length and optic disc tilt between the pNFE and non-pNFE groups. RESULTS: Fifty-nine eyes were placed in the pNFE group and 58 eyes in the non-pNFE group. The axial length of the pNFE group (26.0 ± 1.4 mm) was significantly longer than that of the non-pNFE group (24.9 ± 1.2 mm; P < 0.001). The optic disc tilt of the pNFE group (42.1 ± 16.5 pixels) was significantly greater than that of the non-pNFE group (33.2 ± 16.8 pixels; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of pNFE is not rare in young healthy eyes. The eyes with pNFE have longer axial lengths and greater optic disc tilt. The pNFE should be considered when the disc margin is assessed.

Location of Tessellations in Ocular Fundus and Their Associations with Optic Disc Tilt, Optic Disc Area, and Axial Length in Young Healthy Eyes.

Tessellated fundus is found as common and early-phase characteristic of myopic eyes and their locations are varied among patients. However, the relationship between their locations and morphological parameters of the eyes is still unknown. The purpose is this study is to determine the locations of the tessellations in the ocular fundus of young healthy eyes, and to determine relationships between their locations and morphological parameters of the eyes. This is a prospective observational cross sectional study of 126 eyes of 126 healthy volunteers (mean age 26.0±4.1 years). The eyes were classified into eight groups based on the location of the tessellations; no tessellation, temporal, infra-temporal, inferior, nasal, peripapillary, whole retina, and unclassified tessellations. The degree of optic disc tilt was quantified using a sine curve fitting program on the optical coherence tomographic circle scan images. The correlations between each tessellation location and the axial length, area of the optic disc plus conus (AOC), and optic disc tilt were determined. Forty-four eyes were place in the no tessellation group, 12 eyes in the temporal, 21 eyes in the infra-temporal, 9 eyes in the inferior, 8 eyes in the nasal, 15 eyes in the peripapillary, 11 eyes in the whole, and 6 eyes in the unclassified groups. The differences in the axial lengths between the no tessellation group and the infra-temporal groups were significant. A significant difference was found in the AOC between the no tessellation and the inferior, infra-temporal, and peripapilalry groups. A significant difference was found in the optic disc tilt between the no tessellation and infra-temporal groups (P<0.05). The tessellations are located at specific sites in the fundus of young healthy eyes with the infra-temporal location most frequent. It was correlated with some parameters associated with myopia.

Association of retinal thickness and optic disc-to-fovea angle to axial length of young healthy eyes.

AIM: To determine the relationship between the axial length (AL) and the retinal thickness in the posterior pole and to the optic disc-to-fovea (ODF) angle of healthy eyes. PROCEDURES: A prospective, observational cross-sectional study (registration number, UMIN000006040) of 64 healthy right eyes (mean age 26.0±4.5 years) was performed. The thickness of the 64 areas within the central 24° area were measured in the Spectralis spectral domain-optical coherent tomographic images obtained by posterior pole scans. Each area was 3°×3°. The ODF angle was measured in each fundus photograph. The relationships between the AL and the retinal thickness of each of the 64 areas and the ODF angle were investigated by linear regression analyses. RESULTS: The mean AL was 25.0±1.3 mm and the mean ODF angle was 17.2°±1.0°. The average retinal thickness of the four areas around the fovea was constant and not significantly correlated with the AL. However, the retinal thicknesses of 54 of the other 60 areas were significantly and negatively correlated with the AL (R=-0.25 to -0.56, P<0.05). The ODF angle was also constant and not significantly correlated with the AL (R=-0.17, P=0.19). CONCLUSION: The lack of significant correlations between the AL and the retinal thicknesses of the central 6° or the ODF angle suggests that there might be some feedback system to keep the central retinal thickness and ODF angle constant regardless of an elongation of the AL.

Bilateral diffuse uveal melanocytic proliferation with mucocutaneous pigmentation.

Bilateral diffuse uveal melanocytic proliferation (BDUMP) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome associated with extraocular malignancies. Extraocular pigmented lesions have been reported. We report that two patients with BDUMP presented with non-ocular pigmented lesions.

Circumpapillary course of retinal pigment epithelium can be fit to sine wave and amplitude of sine wave is significantly correlated with ovality ratio of optic disc.

The purpose of this study was to develop a method of quantifying the degree of optic disc tilt in normal eyes. This was a prospective, observational cross sectional study of 126 right eyes of 126 healthy volunteers. The optic disc tilt was determined from the circular peripapillary optical coherence tomographic (OCT) scan images. The course of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer in the peripapillary cross sectional scan images was fit to a sine wave curve, and the amplitude of the sine curve was used to reflect the degree of the optic disc tilt in the optical axis. The repeatability of the amplitude determinations was calculated. The correlation between the amplitude and the ovality ratio of the optic disc was determined. The correlation between the amplitude and the body height was also calculated. The mean amplitude was 36.6 ± 17.5 pixels, which was significantly and inversely correlated with the ovality ratio of the optic disc (R = -0.59, P < 0.001). The intra-rater and inter-rater correlation coefficients of the amplitude were significant high (P < 0.001, both). The amplitude was significantly and inversely correlated with the body height (R = -0.38, P < 0.001), but not with the axial length. In conclusion, a sine wave function can be used to describe the course of the RPE in the circumpapillary OCT images. The results indicate that the amplitude of the sine wave can be used to represent the degree of optic disc tilt. Thus, the sine wave analyses can be used as a quantifiable and repeatable method to determine the optic disc tilt.

Posterior pole asymmetry analyses of retinal thickness of upper and lower sectors and their association with peak retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in healthy young eyes.

PURPOSE: To determine the symmetry of the retinal thicknesses (RT) between the 32 pairs of superior and inferior sectors by posterior pole asymmetrical analysis (PPAA) of the spectral-domain optical coherence tomographic (SD-OCT) images in healthy eyes. In addition, to determine their association with the position of the peak retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness. METHODS: A prospective, observational, cross-sectional study of 64 right eyes. The Spectralis SD-OCT was used to obtain the images, and the PPAA determined the RT of the 64 cells within the central 24° area. The program also compared the thicknesses of corresponding cells across the fovea-disc axis. Circular scans were used to measure the supra- and infratemporal RNFL peak angle differences (PADs). The relationships between the RT of the corresponding cells and the relationship between the differences of the RT of the corresponding cells and PAD were investigated by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean differences between the RT of corresponding cells ranged from 3.1 to 23.2 µm. The RT of all upper cells were significantly correlated with the RT of the corresponding lower cells (R = 0.45-0.97, P < 0.001). The coefficients of correlation between the corresponding pairs of central- and temporal-macular cells were higher than that of the peripheral and nasal-macular cells. The differences of the pairs of nasal-macular cells RT were significantly correlated with the PAD. CONCLUSIONS: The symmetry of the RT between the upper and lower cells was high in the central and temporal-macular areas but not in the peripheral and nasal-macular areas. (www.umin.ac.jp/ctr number, UMIN000006040.).

Quantification of retinal nerve fiber and retinal artery trajectories using second-order polynomial equation and its association with axial length.

PURPOSE: To determine whether a second-degree polynomial equation can fit the retinal nerve fiber (RNF) and retinal artery (RA) trajectories in the posterior pole of eyes and whether the RNF and RA trajectories are correlated with the axial length of the eye. METHODS: This was a prospective observational cross-sectional study of 109 right eyes of 109 healthy participants. All participants underwent axial length measurements, optical coherence tomography (OCT) to determine the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and red-free fundus photography. The supratemporal and infratemporal peaks of the RNFL thickness were determined in the OCT RNFL circle scan images. The trajectories of the RNF passing through the peaks of the RNFL thickness were plotted in the red-free fundus photographs and were fitted to a second-degree polynomial equation (ax(2)/100 + bx + c) by ImageJ. The coefficient a represented the steepness of the trajectories. Intraclass correlation coefficient was used to measure the reliability between the raters. The relationships between the RNF or RA trajectories and the axial length were investigated using linear regression analyses. RESULTS: The mean axial length was 25.5 ± 1.4 mm, and the mean RNF trajectory and the mean RA trajectory, a, were 0.472 ± 0.123 and 0.442 ± 0.109, respectively. The intrarater and interrater correlation coefficients of the RNF trajectories were 0.954 and 0.881, respectively. The RNF and RA trajectories were significantly and positively correlated with the axial length (R = 0.28, 0.33, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: A longer axial length is associated with narrower RNF and RA trajectories. (www.umin.ac.jp/ctr number, UMIN000006040.).

Relationship between supernormal sectors of retinal nerve fibre layer and axial length in normal eyes.

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of the axial length on the supernormal and false-positive sectors of the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) in healthy eyes using the normative database embedded in a spectral domain optical coherence tomographic (SD-OCT) instrument. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational cross -sectional study. The right eyes of 126 healthy young volunteers were studied. The RNFL thickness was measured by SD-OCT in twelve 30-degree sectors (clock hours) around the optic disc. The sectors whose RNFL thickness was <5% probability level were labelled as false-positive sectors. The sectors >95% probability level were labelled as supernormal sectors. The relationships between the axial length and rates of supernormal and false-positive sectors were investigated. RESULTS: A longer axial length was significantly associated with an increase in the rates of supernormal thickness in sector 8 (odds ratio, [OR], 1.494; p = 0.010) and sector 10 (OR, 1.529; p = 0.008). The supernormal sectors were mainly located in the temporal region. A longer axial length was significantly associated with a higher rates of false positives in sector 5 (OR, 1.789; p = 0.017), sector 6 (OR, 2.305; p < 0.001) and sector 12 (OR, 2.277; p = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: The axial length was significantly related to the rates of supernormal and false-positive sectors even in healthy eyes. These findings indicate that the specificity and sensitivity of SD-OCT will be affected especially in eyes with longer axial lengths.

Association between retinal thickness of 64 sectors in posterior pole determined by optical coherence tomography and axial length and body height.

PURPOSE: We determined a significant correlation between the retinal thickness (RT) in 64 cells or sectors of the posterior pole, and the axial length (AL) and the body height (BH). METHODS: A prospective, observational cross-sectional study of 64 right eyes of 64 healthy volunteers (mean age, 26.0 ± 4.5 years; range, 22-39 years). The RT within the central 24° area was measured in the Spectralis spectral domain-optical coherence tomographic (SD-OCT) images. The correlations between the RT and the AL or the BH were determined by linear regression analyses. RESULTS: The mean ± SD of the AL was 25.04 ± 1.30 mm, and that of the BH was 167.2 ± 8.5 cm. The RTs of the central four cells around the fovea were not significantly correlated with the AL. The RTs of 54 cells were significantly and negatively associated with the AL (r = -0.25 to -0.56, P < 0.05). In contrast, the RTs of the central to temporal eight cells were significantly and positively correlated with the BH (r = 0.26-0.37, P < 0.05). The RTs of 56 cells were not significantly correlated with the BH. CONCLUSIONS: The RT of the posterior retina, except in the fovea, decreased as AL elongated, and those of the central temporal areas were significantly correlated with the BH. Thus, the AL and BH must be considered when the RT is evaluated. The 64-sector analysis on OCT is useful to assess the detailed changes of RT affected by them. (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm number, UMIN000007154.).